Smoking ban at 2 companies irks Glendale neighborhood

Two large Glendale companies have recently banned smoking on their campuses - which is good for people's health but apparently bad for nearby homeowners.

Displaced smokers are now lighting up in nearby neighborhoods, where they leave behind cigarette butts and ashes, much to homeowners consternation.

The two businesses in the spotlight are the AAA Regional Center on Bell Road and 53rd Avenue and Banner Thunderbird Medical Center on Thunderbird Road and 55th Avenue. The city has received a few complaints from homeowners about smokers leaving behind litter.

"These two businesses that have their wonderful non-smoking campuses do not want their employees walking up and down the arterial streets smoking, because they feel it's not good for their image as a business to have employees walk up and down, back and forth in front of their business smoking," Mayor Elaine Scruggs said at Tuesday's City Council workshop. "So, they've asked them to go someplace else. Someplace else takes them to sidewalks of residences. Where is the fairness in that?

The smokers are now in front of people's homes, "flicking ashes and leaving cigarette butts and in general collecting and talking," Scruggs said.

"Maybe your kids want to play in the front yard but you have these people strolling back and forth," the mayor said. "So it seems like their property rights, their right to enjoy their property is being severely diminished."

Scruggs wants businesses that opt to go smoke-free to accommodate its smokers. She said now is the time to address the issue: Glendale is updating its zoning ordinance as non-smoking facilities are becoming the norm.

Planning Director Jon Froke said Arizona statute doesn't require an employer to provide a smoking area, and cities in Maricopa County generally defer to state law.

Banner has banned employees, patients and visitors from smoking on campus since January. Banner facilities have adopted a tobacco-free initiative, which even prohibits smokers from indulging while driving on the campus.

"We have communicated and worked closely with neighbors on Eugie (Avenue) to do our very best to minimize anyone smoking around their homes," said Banner spokesman Barry Iselin on Thursday. "We have street sweepers that come through and clean up the gutters and generally we have done a great deal to try and deal with implementing a tobacco-free policy with the least amount of impact to neighbors."

Iselin said the hospital has taken steps to curtail smoking such as offering employees smoking cessation classes and products, reminding employees that the neighborhood sidewalks are off limits and discouraging smoking breaks.

Iselin said Banner has no intention of setting aside a smoking area on campus.

"Banner made a commitment as of Jan. 1, 2010, that all Banner hospitals be tobacco-free and no smoking areas would be reinstated," he said.

AAA spokeswoman Linda Gorman said the company has provided an area for its smokers.

"We did create an area toward the edge of the property where staff can go and smoke," Gorman said. "We have benches and trash receptacles where they can go and smoke, and we go out and clean it regularly. We try to be sensitive to both staff's need and wanting to be good neighbors."

City spokeswoman Julie Frisoni said Glendale was thrilled to see AAA address concerns by designating a smoking area for its employees. She said residents, council members, and street crews have seen groups of 15 to 20 employees outside the building, flicking cigarette ashes and butts onto the sidewalk and street.

Council members David Goulet and Yvonne Knaack said private employers, not the city, need to address smoking employees.

Knaack said, as a small-business owner, she would not want the city telling her that she would need to set aside a smoking area.

"I don't think it's up to us," she said. "It's up to businesses to be good neighbors."

Council members Joyce Clark and Manny Martinez and Vice Mayor Steve Frate supported Scruggs' direction for staff to study the issue further and return to the council with the findings and a recommendation.